Annie Cordy, real name Léonie Cooreman (born in Laeken on June 16, 1928), embarked on an artistic career at an early age. A singing competition she won at sixteen opened the door to song. A dancer, singer and revue hostess, she made her debut at the Boeuf sur le Toit, then, in 1951, at the Lido in Paris. A fixture of Parisian nights and the Tour de France, she sang in Francis Lopez's operetta La Route fleurie, alongside Bourvil and Georges Guétary, then was hired by Sacha Guitry for the film Si Versailles m'était conté, followed by the filmed operetta Le Chanteur de Mexico with Luis Mariano. From then on, Annie Cordy combined a successful musical career with both funny and dramatic film roles. Invited to sing at the wedding of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco, she turned down a Hollywood career at the wish of her husband, Henry Bruneau, to devote herself to lighter songs and Parisian musical revues. After a few hits in the fashionable exotic style and duets with Bourvil and Darry Cowl, the "rigolote" singer put all her talents to work in the musical Hello Dolly! (1972), which was a triumph, while her roles in Le Passager de la pluie and Rue haute revealed another side of the Belgian artist. After "La Bonne du curé" (No. 1, sold three million copies in 1974), which never left the charts, the hits followed in quick succession: "Frida oum papa", "Nini la chance", "Ça ira mieux demain"," Le Kazou " and "Tata Yoyo " (1981) were the pretexts for disguises, and cultivated the crazy side of the blonde artist with her infectious energy and good humor. In 1985, "Cho Ka Ka O " was her last mass success, selling two and a half million singles. Her career continued on stage, in the theater, on television and in the movies, with no age limit to her boundless activity. In 2004, Belgium paid tribute to this colorful character with the authentic title of Baroness, with the motto "La passion fait la force" ("Passion is strength"). Other roles in Richard Bohringer's C'est beau une ville la nuit and Fabien Onteniente's Disco are part of the long list of achievements of this nonagenarian artist, who has by no means retired from stage and screen. After the album Ça Me Plaît... J'espère Que Ça Vous Plaira (2012) and a final selection of Christmas songs in 2014, Annie Cordy, aged 92, succumbed to a heart attack at her villa Dolly in Vallauris on September 4, 2020. A national tribute is paid to her.
